Spiffy:

Iffy:

You either understand and dig fighting games, or you don't. There's really very little in-between. You either appreciate the button-crunching combinations, the crucial memory work, and the light-speed manual dexterity that's required to properly execute all those complex offensive and defensive moves, or you find the whole thing a little silly.

However, if you've never really given the 3D fighting genre a fair shake simply because you've been too busy driving racecars or eradicating monsters, chances are you haven't even formed an opinion. If that's you, there may be no better time for that fair shake than right now. Sega is set to release the latest iteration of its ubiquitous Virtua Fighter series on the Xbox 360, and the virtual martial arts crowd is psyched.

Why so psyched? Because Virtua Fighter is the hand-to-hand combat granddaddy. It established the genre as an arcade staple when it debuted in 1993, and it's been a key cog in Sega's arcade and home console lineup ever since. It consistently garners critical acclaim for its realism, its sophistication and complexity, its anti-button-mashing reward system, and its visual and practical distinction between characters. But this particular version is getting serious attention for a number of other reasons, not the least of which is that VF isn't one of those annual occurrences -- indeed, it's been several years since VF4. Moreover, it's the first next-gen iteration ever, a distinction shared with the PlayStation 3 VF5 that debuted several months ago.

Still, Virtua Fighter 5 on the Xbox 360 is undoubtedly where it's at. It'll sport fresher arcade code and AI than its PS3 sibling, improved anti-aliasing, support for both d-pad and analog stick control, and tactile rumble effects. It allows players to utilize arcade sticks and to take their character with them on memory cards. And, because the graphical and the processing power of the 360 is as strong as it is, it delivers a 720p HD picture and an accurate portrayal of the true arcade experience. But the most important innovation of the 360 game is that for the first time ever, combatants can take their punitive desires online.

Online multiplayer is a very big deal in the 3D fighting genre because it's such a difficult thing to pull off. These games absolutely demand that user-inputted commands and actions are instantaneously recognized. Moreover, there are simply so many commands zipping around at any one time that the coding needs to be streamlined and extremely efficient in order to make it all work between two remote locations and potentially over vast distances. The same level of detail, pinpoint precision, and, of course, lag-free functionality isn't required, for example, in an online flying game or even a shooter.

When the PS3 iteration of VF5 went retail in the early spring, it, like every other VF game before it, excluded online play. Why? Because AM2 -- the Virtua Fighter development team that's traditionally known for its perfectionism -- felt it hadn't had enough time to develop that component to its liking. It knew split-second lag literally meant life or death, and it felt it wasn't far enough along to guarantee a hassle-free experience. But according to Sega reps, AM2 has since worked "night and day" over the summer and early fall to make it happen -- without sacrificing any of the game's visual perks -- in time for the 360 release. And while Sega acknowledges that there may be a few, rare cases of temporary lag between exceedingly distant Xboxes, it's also quick to point out that pre-release building-to-building, city-to-city, and even most country-to-country tests have been near-flawless.